Today something more upbeat.
I had known about the Taj Mahal all my life of course – we all have. I thought countless pictures would prepare me. But they did not.
Only when you are actually in its presence do you realize the genius of its architect. The Taj itself is not only beautiful, with perfect symmetry and balance of form, but also vast, imposing, far beyond human scale.
When you walk through the outer gates and catch your first glimpse and approach, you understand all this. What you are not prepared for is what you will find inside. The intimacy of it.
The whole enterprise is constructed as a cleverly proportioned set of nested spaces, so that when you reach the tomb itself, where the king and his bride lie side by side, you are in a very intimate space indeed, a small room just for two – like a lover’s nest for eternity.
I have never seen anything else quite like it. This juxtaposition of the vast and imposing with the small and intimate. The nearest thing I can think of is Wright’s “Falling Water” – but even that doesn’t quite achieve what the Taj does.
It makes me want to learn more about the architect, this genius who was commissioned by a king in mourning, and responded by creating such a wonder for all of humankind.